The present invention is directed to a fishing reel having a planetary drive assembly. More particularly, the invention is directed to a planetary gear drive assembly for a fishing reel having a rotating spool that rotates on a fixed shaft.
A common type of fishing reel has an open spool mounted on a rotating shaft for winding and casting the fishing line. These fishing reels typically have a hand crank and gear system that is offset from the axis of the spool. The offset gear assemblies have a series of gears that rotate in an opposite direction to the direction of rotation of the crank.
Conventional crank assemblies usually contact a single drive gear in a location that is off center from the axis of rotation of the spool. This arrangement produces a poorly balanced force applied to the drive gear and creates a force that pushes the gears apart. In addition, the axis of rotation of the crank handle is off center from the axis of rotation of the spool further contributing to a poorly balanced cranking force.
Various fishing reels have been proposed in an attempt to overcome the disadvantages of these prior fishing reels. One such fishing reel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,095 to Young. This patent discloses a fishing reel having a planetary gear drive for driving a spool. In this device, a crank is connected to a ring gear for driving a pinion gear. The spool is fixed to a spool shaft that rotates in a housing. The pinion gear includes a key to engage the spool shaft. A cam member moves the pinion axially on an extension of the spool shaft. Planetary gears that are mounted on a carrier engage the ring gear and the pinion gear for driving the pinion gear. The pinion slides on the spool shaft extension to engage and disengage the pinion from the shaft.
Another planetary gear drive system for a fishing reel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,562 to Hartmann. This device includes a three speed planetary gear drive. A crank handle is coupled to the carrier for the planetary gears and the ring gear is fixed to the housing. The sun or pinion gear is driven by the planet gears. The sun gear is coupled to the spool shaft and rotates the spool about its axis. A spool is rotatably mounted on the spool shaft and operatively connected to the spool shaft by an adjustable casting brake for driving the spool.
These devices are reasonably effective in achieving the desired purpose. However, a continuing need exists in the industry for a fishing reel having improved drive systems.
The present invention is directed to a fishing reel having a planetary gear drive assembly. More particularly, the invention is directed to an improved planetary drive assembly for a fishing reel where a spool is driven by a pinion gear of the drive assembly.
Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide a fishing reel drive assembly having a planetary gear assembly with a crank handle coupled to a ring gear for driving a pinion gear.
A further object of the invention is to provide a planetary gear assembly for a fishing reel having a pinion drive gear rotatably mounted on a fixed shaft.
Another object of the invention is to provide a planetary gear drive assembly for a fishing reel having a spool rotatably mounted on a fixed shaft.
A further object of the invention is to provide a planetary gear drive assembly for a fishing reel having a fixed shaft with a rotatable spool and pinion drive gear mounted on the shaft.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a planetary gear assembly for a fishing reel having a spool and pinion drive gear rotatably mounted on a common fixed shaft where the pinion is slidable on the shaft into and out of driving engagement with the spool.
Another object of the invention is to provide a fishing reel having a rotatable cam for camming the pinion gear into and out of driving engagement with the spool.
The objects and advantages of the invention are basically attained by providing a fishing reel comprising a frame and a spool shaft coupled to the frame which is non-rotatable with respect to the frame. A spool is rotatably mounted on the spool shaft for receiving a fishing line. A handle crank is rotatably coupled to the frame in axial alignment with the spool shaft. A ring gear is coupled to and driven by the handle cranks. The ring gear has internal teeth. A planetary gear carrier and a plurality of planetary gears are rotatably mounted on the carrier and engage the internal teeth of the ring gear. A drag control assembly resists rotation of the carrier with respect to the frame. A pinion gear having external teeth engages the planetary gears and are rotatably mounted on the spool shaft and are removably coupled with the spool.
The objects of the invention are also attained by providing a fishing reel comprising a housing and a non-rotating spool shaft fixed to the housing. A spool is rotatably mounted on the spool shaft for receiving a fishing line. A handle crank is rotatably coupled to the housing in axial alignment with the spool shaft. A ring gear is coupled to and is driven by the handle crank. The ring gear has internal teeth. A planetary gear carrier is mounted in the housing. A plurality of planetary gears are rotatably mounted on the carrier and engage the internal teeth on the ring gear. A drag control assembly is coupled to the housing for selectively resisting rotation of the carrier with respect to the housing. A pinion gear is mounted on the spool shaft. The pinion gear is rotatable and axially slidable on the spool shaft, and a biasing assembly axially slides the pinion on the spool shaft into driving engagement with the spool.
These and other objects, advantages and salient features of the invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art in view of the following detailed description, which taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention.